What are Southern California radio listeners tuning in to hear? Oldies.
In what may be the biggest surprise of the quarter, KROQ made a huge comeback.
The March Nielsen ratings were released last week, and oldies were the big winner with KRTH (101.1 FM) taking first place in the Los Angeles area, beating out KOST (103.5 FM) with a rating of 6.0 versus KOST’s 5.6.
Immediately following was KFI (640 AM) — the top-rated talker in town as well as the highest-rated local AM station — with a third-place finish overall and a solid 5.5 rating. Rounding out the top five was “My FM” KBIG (104.3 FM) at 4.5, and a fifth-place tie between Spanish hits station KLVE (107.5 FM) and semi-Urban KTWV (94.7 FM) at 4.2.
In what may be the biggest surprise of the quarter, KROQ (106.7 FM) made a huge comeback after languishing for much of the past few years, and in the month of March overtook Alt 98.7 FM (KYSR) for the top-rated alternative music station in town. It was still close, but KROQ came in at 12th place with a rating of 3.0, compared with Alt’s 14th place 2.5. Of note is the fact that the format itself finally showed some real growth — overall, Alt is down a little, but not as much as KROQ’s increase. Combined, the stations have a higher share of the ratings than in recent history.
KNX Newsradio (1070 AM, 97.1 FM) had a strong month, getting into the top 10 in a tie with “La Raza” KLAX (97.9 FM) with a 3.0 share of the ratings. The online streams for both stations added to that… more on that later.
I’m not sure what is happening with country music … it’s down overall compared with past years. but at least March showed some growth after declines that began in February. Go Country KKGO (105.1 FM) tied with “Que Buena KBUE (105.5 FM) with a 1.7 share. I still count Go Country as one of the true gems of Los Angeles radio … and yes, I like modern country music.
There were a few online streams that made the ratings list, some of which beat a few broadcast stations. Streams are listed separately when they don’t duplicate the main signal 100 percent — usually due to different commercials running on each — but they certainly show the potential of online listenership. KLAX had the highest-rated stream with a 0.4 share, while KNX Newsradio earned 0.2. Add the stream ratings to the on-air ratings and KLAX would have come in 9th overall, while KNX would have ranked 11th alone rather than being tied.
The highest-rated public station? It’s a tie with Pasadena City College’s KPCC (89.3 FM) and USC’s KUSC (91.5 FM) coming in 17th — along with KLYY (107.1 FM) and KKLQ (100.3 FM) — at 2.2.
Where are the political talkers that some are so very concerned with because of their supposed undue influence? Tied for 32nd place with both KEIB (1150 AM) and KRLA (870 AM) earning 0.7 shares. To those who try: please stop telling me that political talk radio has any influence over elections. They don’t. Just stop.
Meruelo and Nielsen worked out their differences, so unlike last time, all Meruelo-owned and operated stations are on the list. This includes KLOS (95.5 FM), KPWR (105.9 FM) and KDAY (93.5 FM). On the other hand, Cumulus never made an agreement, so KABC doesn’t show in the list.
Each rating is an estimate of the percentage of listeners aged six and over, tuned to a station between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 midnight:
1. KRTH (6.0) 2. KOST (5.6) 3. KFI (5.5) 4. KBIG (4.5) 5. KLVE, KTWV (4.2) 7. KIIS (4.1) 8. KRCD (3.9) 9. KCBS-FM (3.3) 10. KLAX, KNX AM/FM (3.0) 12. KROQ (2.8) 13. KLOS (2.7) 14. KYSR (2.5) 15. KSCA, KXOL (2.4) 17. KKLQ, KLYY, KPCC, KUSC (2.2) 21. KRRL (2.0) 22. KCRW, KPWR (1.9) 24. KLLI (1.8) 25. KBUE, KKGO (1.7) 27. KDAY (1.6) 28. KJLH (1.4) 29. KKJZ (1.3) 30. KFSH, KFWB (0.9) 32. KLAC (0.8) 33. KEIB, KRLA (0.7) 35. KCSN (0.6) 36. KDLD (0.5) 37. KYLA, KLAX Stream (0.4) 39. KKLA, KNX-FM Stream, KTNQ (0.2) 42. KBIG HD2, KHJ, KKLQ HD2, KWKW (0.1).
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com